When A Podcast Isn’t Just A Podcast
April 10, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
I had a great IM conversation last night with a podcast author regarding my post from a few days ago about the death of podcasting. He seemed to agree on many levels and was hoping for some advice because he’s feeling trapped in his current podcast network and not sure how to venture out on his own.
One thing that struck me in this conversation was that I didn’t mean to declare podcasts dead in the sense of being useless, they have a an excellent use as being a form of on-the-go media. What I don’t think is effective is having a podcast just for the purpose of having a podcast. A podcast on its own is lonely, and people want, and need context with their content.
In the semantic web context and conversation is even more important than it was 3 years ago when everyone decided that podcasts were the big thing. One newsroom that I work with has had a pod/vod cast in the works for 4 or 5 years and what I’m telling them now is that it’s probably not worth their time to try to play catchup and release them now, let’s just move on and work on something much more current like accepting public opinion and thoughts in an open forum on their web properties.
What spurred my post the other day was the abundance of “podcasting” sessions planned for NAB next week, if these news executives are just now learning about and thinking about implementing podcasts, then the public is going to suffer because the larger Internet world has moved on already.
If pod/vodcasting is an easy thing to implement within your existing organization and workflow by all means, start ‘casting! But if that process is going to be a long one and expend a lot of resources that could otherwise be directed toward more 2-way conversations with your community, then I think you should concentrate on doing that.
If you’ve made it all the way down here in the post you probably don’t need it, but here’s a summary: Podcasting is dead as a sole medium, it’s a one-way conversation and everything I’m seeing says that the public wants and needs 2-way communication with their news agencies to build trust and understanding. Pod/Vod casting makes a great complement to other tools but I don’t think it should be used on its own.
Are Podcasts Dead?
April 7, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
In case you didn’t know, I’ll be in Las Vegas Sunday-Wednesday for the NAB conference (National Association of Broadcasters). The Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism is sponsoring my trip so that I can present Contributr to the masses. (Let’s hope Contributr is ready, more on that tomorrow!)
As I was looking through the available sessions trying to schedule myself into some I noticed a recurring theme, podcasting. Now I hate to rain on anybody’s parade but aren’t podcasts dead? Haven’t they been deemed not conversational enough?
I mean sure, we all are subscribed to a few in iTunes, but how often do you actually listen to one? Let alone actively look for more? I know I don’t. I’ve moved on, I’ve moved on to try to create and examine the semantic web. And podcasts just don’t fit into that strategy very well. They may not be static in location but they are certainly static in content. One you publish an episode to a podcast it just sits there… and people listen to it… but what else? What’s the extra step? … Well I just can’t seem to find it.
So you might imagine my disappointment when I am going through the NAB sessions schedule and see multiple sessions on podcasting each day, and only 2 or 3 sessions on ‘blogging’ total for the entire conference.
Is this where journalism is? Is this what the journalism folks think is hot? Haven’t they found Twitter, haven’t they found Facebook, haven’t they found that conversations are the latest and greatest things to hit the web?
Apparently not, and in my conversations with Jen Reeves it seems that the ‘industry’ is doomed to be 5-years behind as she puts it. Here I am creating wikis, blogging daily, coming up with user generated content solutions, enhancing new-media workflows, and creating conversations around my own life and here is the Journalism Industry just now trying to figure out podcasting.
There’s disconnect somewhere. That disconnect is what is holding back journalism and the news media in general, they’re not in touch with what consumers are using technology for.
As all of my recent blog posts do, I’ll link this one to my current job-search. There are quite a few journalism web content editor and producer jobs out there. Frankly, they’re almost a dime a dozen, news organizations realize they need to staff “the web” so staff “the web” they do. But where is the innovation? Where is the commitment?
Part of the struggle I have faced in my job search is that there’s plenty of work to be had out there, but very few newsrooms and very few news people “get it”. It takes more than just repurposing content from your printed newspaper or broadcast TV show onto the web anymore, that’s just not enough. People want to have conversations, they want to change, edit, manipulate, share, and copy your precious content. Are you willing to see what your public can do for you?
That’s the future of journalism. Don’t just talk to the public, let the public talk to you. If you “get it” email, call, IM, or @jdcoffman me. I’m listening, are you?
Jonathan’s Twitter Updates for 2008-04-02
April 2, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
- This is the first time in a while that UPS has failed me, my Amazon package should have been here yesterday (Prime 2-day shipping) #
- VERY tired today, but need to make some progress on upcoming projects. #
- Writing up some recommendations for my web host, I’m not real happy with their support right now #
- @nbostic MediaTemple, I love them, phone support is great, but ticket support is extremely slow #
- What is the deal with all the "Podcasting" sessions scheduled at NAB? Is the News Biz that behind? #
- How do YOU support/design/develop for IE? do you follow all the ‘exceptions’ in your code? or say good riddance? #
- @rosscbrown not quite actually, it will after the June V.2 software update. It WILL work with Exchange over IMAP though #
- @rosscbrown As far as I know all of those will be operational when that new software comes out #
- Just off the phone with PBS Engage/Interactive, lots of exciting things happening. Hopefully I can help #
- I’ve been on the phone with MediaTemple for 27 minutes now, the "db server you site is on is ‘having issues’" #
Jonathan’s Twitter Updates for 2008-04-02
April 2, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
- This is the first time in a while that UPS has failed me, my Amazon package should have been here yesterday (Prime 2-day shipping) #
- VERY tired today, but need to make some progress on upcoming projects. #
- Writing up some recommendations for my web host, I’m not real happy with their support right now #
- @nbostic MediaTemple, I love them, phone support is great, but ticket support is extremely slow #
- What is the deal with all the "Podcasting" sessions scheduled at NAB? Is the News Biz that behind? #
- How do YOU support/design/develop for IE? do you follow all the ‘exceptions’ in your code? or say good riddance? #
- @rosscbrown not quite actually, it will after the June V.2 software update. It WILL work with Exchange over IMAP though #
- @rosscbrown As far as I know all of those will be operational when that new software comes out #
- Just off the phone with PBS Engage/Interactive, lots of exciting things happening. Hopefully I can help #
- I’ve been on the phone with MediaTemple for 27 minutes now, the "db server you site is on is ‘having issues’" #
Convergence of the Future
March 19, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
News makers keep talking about backpack journalists and having reporters be good at everything. Now we all know that’s just not possible, but it hasn’t stopped the visionaries from proclaiming convergence journalism the future of news.
Convergence of the media is already happening of course, and convergence is the future. No longer is a television station just a television station. Or a radio station, just a radio station. I’ve been interviewing with news organizations trying to find a full-time gig after graduation and I recently met with a newspaper editor from a small-market.
He said something to the effect that “I’m not just running a newspaper, I’m also a TV station, Radio station, podcaster, blogger, information resource, and that’s on top of the seven printed products my newsroom produces”. This is what convergence is, its one media taking on and challenging the other media forms.
Back in the early days of my Journalism School experience they taught about how the Internet wasn’t the end-all of media, much to the contrary each individual media had its own benefits. Well, yes that’s true in part, each form of media (broadcast, print, online, social, etc) does have distinct advantages and disadvantages, but that’s the great thing about the Internet, it allows each of those media to succeed and distribute their product in an open-market of consumers and viewers.
The Internet brings all of those competing old-media technologies and pardon the cliche, it creates synergies between them. No longer is a newspaper just a newspaper, but instead its a radio station, tv station, web site, and a community in and of itself.
This is the Real future of convergence journalism, a combined news product that reaches all people equally and in multiple formats. We’re already doing this in many cases but news makers haven’t taken it far enough yet.
Convergence journalism to me is all about taking advantage of the things that make a particular medium what it is. Television is immensely visual for instance, but a 30 minute newscast can’t begin to touch the detail a 1,500 word article in a major newspaper can. The power of the Internet changes all that.
The power of the Internet creates an open marketplace of ideas from which news consumers can ingest and even create their own news and information resources. One of the goals for my Contributr project is just that, make the communication between the public and a news organization easy for both parties so that both are more likely to interact and create even better news for the communities (and the world) that they serve.
If you’re interested in hearing more of my ideas on the future of journalism and the things that can be right now, subscribe to my RSS feed right here and always get the latest blog posts.
As always, comments are always open on this blog (although the first time you post I may have to approve it to make sure you’re not a spam robot) so join the conversation!
links for 2008-03-16
March 16, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
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I just joined this NING social network for journalists in the 21st Century.
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Beautiful, Beautiful fonts
Jonathan’s Twitter Updates for 2008-01-23
January 23, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
- Cooking a delightful little dinner of chicken and peas (you’re on Twitter to hear what others are eating didn’t you??
# - Watching Season 1 Disk 1 of The Wire (have you seen it?) #
- Just getting out of a Contributr meeting, 9 days until my AIR app launches! #
- @samharrelson I haven’t yet taken anyone off, but I’m thinking about being proactive about the pending spam-splosion. #
- Getting a passport photo, never know when you might have to flee! #
- Err travel
# - SAMs club usually has decent samples, but a free knife? Crazy! #
- I’ve got 3-4 websites I have to launch in the next 2-weeks so I’ll be working on those this afternoon. #
- I need to whip up a quick podcast, what’s your favorite tool for making one? Or should I do it by hand? #
- @gruber I think you’ve hit all the big ones, iTweet and PocketTweets are my favs right now, but that varies. None is perfect yet. #
- oh why/oh why, does Flash Video Encoder take so long/ wait don’t answer that/ I know why/ but I DO wish I had a faster machine to do it on! #
- @acafourek haven’t used it yet, but it appears to be of good weight and balance, it may be a winner! #
- I’m Lifecasting over at Justin.TV here for a bit, call my Grand Central number if you want to converse live! http://tinyurl.com/2kd6j2 #
- Taking my personal site down for a few minutes while I upload Version 2.0 #
- Do you own YOURNAME.com/.net/.org/.tv? I purchased all TLDs for my name, wise or waste? #
Conversations
January 23, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
To start, you should check out my blog and add the RSS feed to your favorite feed reader. While you’re doing that, you might also subscribe to my Podcast which I update on occasion with pieces of journalism. I welcome comments and suggestions on each of my posts on my blog, and you can also find me participating in conversations on the following social-networking sites:
I recently started posting a daily link blog with news, information, and resources all relating to social media. Check it out and submit your own links!
- Jaiku
- Pownce
- MySpace
- Justin.TV
- JonathanCoffman.tv
- Tumblr.com
- Del.icio.us
- Dopplr
- Flickr
- FriendFeed
Web Design and Buildouts
January 23, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
As a web designer I have a small bit of experience ranging from e-commerce and mail-order companies, to micro-sites advertising goods and services, to blogs, discussion boards, and a philanthropic site. I’ve built a wide variety.
I’m passionate about online communities, and in order to positively affect change you have to remember who you ultimately are serving, the almighty user. Enhancing user experience is vital to any project whether offline or online.
You’ll find links below to some of the sites I’ve designed and built over the years. The methods and the technology has changed, and so have I. Design and development went from largely Photoshop comps hard coded into HTML sites to standards based XHTML, Flash, and Content Management Systems.
All of my projects strive to be standards compliant and I especially enjoy working with people who believe in open source software (Drupal and WordPress are my favorites) the benefits to both the developers and the users when taking advantage of open code.
News and Journalism based sites:
- Smart Decision 2008
- KOMU Blogs and Boards (online community, still in development)
- KOMU News Base (online training and tutorial site for newsroom employees)
- Kansas City Pets (WDAF-TV micro site)
Personal and Professional Sites (many of these sites are simply archived copies, some links may not work on them):
- Creative Celebrations (2002)
- FunFunFun For Kids
- CB Designs
- Family Guy Quotes
- How You Can Volunteer
- Perennial Podcast
- JonathanCoffman.com Version 1
Public Radio
January 23, 2008 by Jonathan · Leave a Comment
My time Columbia, Missouri gave me the opportunity to work with KBIA-FM the NPR affiliate station for central Missouri. This nationally recognized and award winning news organization took me in and provided me with the tools and experience needed to produce long and short form radio pieces, further enhancing my multi-media and convergence journalism skills.
Here are some radio packages I did for KBIA (Flash, and MP3 Versions Available, also visit my Podcast page to subscribe):
- Meningitis Long Form (MP3)
- Meningitis Short Form (MP3)
- Home School Short Form (MP3)
- Islamic School Short Form (MP3)
- I also produced a 6 week series of ‘Coffee Chats’ with local and regional politicians where I sat down and discussed issues of importance in n informal setting prior to the 2006 election cycle.
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OtherProfiles
